Read More

Ahead of the planning decision CBWIN say ancient views of the cathedral, long lauded as 'The Ship of The Fens', will be obscured.

These include sight lines from Cambridge Castle Mound, University Library, Devils Dyke, Fleam Dyke, from the American Cemetery and from Madingley Hall.

In a certain statement the group said if the expansion plans get the go-ahead: "The ancient sight line from Cambridge Castle Mound will be completely obstructed.

Cambridge Without Incineration (CBWIN) have issued this mock-up on the chimney stack in situ.

"When the A428 was built, it was lowered into a constructed ridge around the American Cemetery, so as not to interfere with the sight line from the American cemetery across the Fens and to the cathedral. "

Instead the campaigners' independent review will be submitted as a "right to speak" item, meaning they will be given the opportunity to put their case forward at the planning committee meeting next week.

The planning committee will then make a decision based on the facts from a report by council officers, as well as what is said in the meeting.

In a statement the campaign group said: "The final report will only contain Amey’s and the county council’s versions of landscape reports. The county council case officer has recommended approval."

Jude Sutton, a member of CBWIN and long standing opponent of the project, said: "The proposed facility will not only destroy these important sight lines, it trashes Ely Cathedral's unique place in the Fens."

Read More

She added: "We know that waste has to be managed sustainably but we have grave reservations about the scale of this development and its impact on the Fen setting and environment. Once built, we're stuck with it for at least a generation and 70 per cent of waste will have to be brought in from a ‘local catchment area’ of 12 counties as a minimum to make the business case viable (according to the developer’s official planning statements), 30 per cent coming from even further afield.

"Our cathedral will find itself sitting alongside a giant incinerator, belching out fumes. Its once glorious and unique place in the landscape will be lost."

The incinerator controversy

The proposed structure would be 141 metres long, between 55 and 91 metres wide and process up to 250,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Heritage England has also voiced opposition to the plans, highlighting the plight of Denny Abbey, a 12th century Benedictine abbey, which they say would suffer if the development went ahead.

Cambridge Without Incineration (CBWIN) have supplied the showing the scale of the proposed chimney against Ely Cathedral.

It adds the new incinerator would be a “dominant, alien structure” which would result in “serious harm" to the Abbey's "significance”.

Historic England suggested “alternative use” for the site should be sought, “given the severity of harm” it would cause to the historical setting.

Safety worries

Landbeach Parish Council is also objecting to the plans because they believe that the effects of a “system breakdown” or malfunction have not been fully considered.

Its objection reads: “The toxic nature of the materials being incinerated and the products of incineration mean that in the event of a failure of the exhaust filtering, odour management or similar systems, there could be emissions that are harmful to people.

"Because of the height of the stack, these toxic emissions could be distributed over a very wide area.”

Read More

Meanwhile Waterbeach Parish Council says it does not consider benefits offered by the proposal outweigh the “significant and ongoing harm its presence in the landscape and operational impacts would cause to the immediate and wider locality”.

The council added it was “mindful” of local objections to potential pollution form the plant, and also said added traffic from lorries accessing the site could further clog up the A10.

The new Amey facility could bring an extra 30 lorries a day down the A10.

In agreement with CBWIN, South Cambridgeshire District Council said it feared the plant would cause “significant and adverse visual impact on the local character and surrounding countryside due to its prominence, large scale and industrial appearance.”

The authority also noted concerns for how the incinerator might impact on the health of people living nearby.

“There are also significant concerns about the future impacts of the proposed facility on local air quality and human health,” reads a letter sent from the council.

Read More

“Although the proposed installation will be subject to regulation through an Environmental Permit issued and enforced by the Environment Agency, the proposed use has the potential to pose a risk to human health and impact the local air quality within South Cambridgeshire and therefore warrants additional consideration beyond the permitting requirements.”

A spokeswoman for Amey said the company has ensured the plans integrate well within the existing site.

She said: "Amey is committed to ensuring the new facility integrates well within the existing buildings that comprise the Waterbeach Waste Management Park. We have also sought to ensure the impacts on the wider landscape and views of the sensitive receptors are minimised.

"In finalising the proposals, we have worked closely with local stakeholders and our Community Liaison Group, as well as taking into account feedback received following public consultation events held in September 2017. We have used this to help shape the final proposals for the facility."